The trade association UK Steel has commented on the deal between the UK and the US regarding the US Section 232 trade measures and on UK international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan's call for a review of the UK’s steel safeguard.
“This deal is warmly welcomed by the UK steel sector. The US represents a key export market for UK producers but since the introduction of Section 232 tariffs by the previous administration steelmakers across the UK have been selling into the US at a huge disadvantage,” UK Steel said.
Without this agreement UK producers would have remained at a significant competitive disadvantage in US markets to competitors in the EU and Japan, with their exports severely curtailed. From June, UK steel producers will have annual tariff-rate quotas for steel exports to the US of a total of 500,000 mt under 54 product categories, as SteelOrbis reported.
UK Steel also welcomes the international trade secretary’s decision to call for a review of the UK’s steel safeguards. “In the face of continued global overcapacity of steelmaking, and in light of the continuation of the US 232 measures and the EU’s steel safeguards, it is vital that the UK maintains commensurate protections for its own steel market, guarding against the risk of diverted trade,” UK Steel stated.